USA > Pennsylvania > Book of biographies; This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of the Seventeenth congressional district, Pennsylvania > Part 20
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Mr. Angle and Sue Robison, a daughter of Theodore Robison of Easton, Pa., took the marriage vows and they are the proud parents of two sons, namely: Theodore and Frank Purcel. In religious views our subject is an Episcopalian, and a member of Christ Memorial Church, of which he is senior war- den.
ILLIAM W. BLACK, the popular and efficient sheriff of Columbia County, resides in the county jail at Blooms- burg, which is one of the finest and best
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equipped in the state. He is a son of John and Ann (Lemons) Black, and was born in Eyers Grove, Columbia County, November 19, 1845.
Jeremiah Black, grandfather of our subject, who was born in Londonderry, Ireland, and came to America about the year 1800, first located in Lewisburg, Northumberland County, and later moved to Columbia Coun- ty. He was naturally a mechanic and fol- lowed the trade of a miller and millwright. In Northumberland County he operated a large flour mill until 1822, the time of his re- moval to Columbia County, and the remain- der of his life was spent in operating a mill owned by James Heberman. He was drowned in attempting to ford a stream below the mills on December 7, 1827. His wife survived him many years, dying January 27, 1865. Their union was blessed by the birth of the following children : James, who was born in 1806, was a miller and inventor by trade and died in Philadelphia at the age of eighty years; John, the father of our subject; Mary, who married Theodore Pinkerton, a resident of Indiana; Jeremiah, who died at an early age; William, a retired jeweler of Tioga County; Caroline, deceased, who married a Mr. Pearsall, an act- or; Lovina, who died at an early age; and Horatio Nelson, who, like his father, is of a mechanical turn of mind, and resides in Phil- adelphia.
John Black, the father of our subject, was born October 26, 1809, and in due time learned the trade of a miller with his father and after the latter's death assisted in sup- porting the family and rearing his younger brothers and sisters. He was first employed in Hoffman's mill near Light Street, Pa., and later at Bowman's and other mills in that lo- cality. He was finally obliged to give up his trade on account of failing health and for
some time he was engaged in burr dressing, after which he purchased a tavern at Rohrs- burg, which he conducted in connection with a general merchandise store. He built a new hotel which is still standing and is known as the Rohrsburg House. His son, Perry D., succeeded him as proprietor of the store, but Mr. Black assisted him until 1898, when he removed to Bloomsburg, where he has since lived in retirement at the home of our subject. He is enjoying excellent health for one of his years, being now passed eighty-nine years of age, and has a large number of friends throughout the county who wish him many more years of health and happiness. Mr. Black was united in marriage to Ann Lemon, a daughter of Jonathan Lemon, January 31, 1833, and they reared seven children, as fol- lows: Lemon J., who is a farmer near Rohrs- burg; Isaac F., a retired citizen of Morris, Ti- oga County, Pa., where he was formerly a very popular hotelkeeper; Perry D., a merchant of Rohrsburg; Mary C., deceased; Alfred B., who died in 1866 from diseases contracted in the War of the Rebellion; William W., the subject of this personal history; and Eliza- beth, who married J. W. Fortner of Centralia, Pa.
William W. Black was reared in his native township where he attended the common schools. He then engaged in huckstering which business he continued until he pur- chased his father's hotel, which he managed for over fifteen years with good results. He then followed farming in connection with the hotel business but for the past three years has rented his hotel property. In 1894 he was a candidate for the office of sheriff, but was beaten for the nomination. In 1897 he re- ceived the nomination, was elected by a com- fortable majority, and has since performed the duties of that office in such a manner as to
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gain the highest approval of all concerned. On January 1, 1897, Mr. Black moved into the residence part of the jail, which is fitted with all modern improvements and is in keep- ing with the remainder of the building. It is a massive and beautiful stone structure of two storie's and a basement, and has a large stone tower from which an excellent view of the town of Bloomsburg may be had. The in- terior is divided into twenty-eight cells, four- teen on each floor, each of which contains the regulation furnishings. The jail is well venti- lated and is lighted by three sky-lights and glass-closed slots, which are too small to per- mit a prisoner to escape through them. Every possible precaution is taken to prevent the escape of any of the prisoners, as the walls are of heavy stone, lined with metal, and the doors are also lined with metal. About the building is a stone wall twenty-two and a half feet in height with a smooth finish on the in- side. Mr. Black appointed his son, A. Bruce Black, deputy sheriff, and he has performed his duties in a conscientious and straightfor- word manner. Our subject has also served in official capacity as constable and tax collector.
Our subject formed a matrimonial alliance with Rachel A. Unger, a daughter of Lafay- ette Unger of Unityville, and they became the proud parents of two children: Ella M., who married John W. Mather, by whom she had two sons, Ray and Bruce; and A. Bruce, who attended the high school of York, Pa., and the seminary at Williamsport, and is also a graduate of Michael's University of Logans- port, Ind.,-he took a special course in nen- manship in Zanerian Art College at Colum- bus, O., and for a short time was a teacher of penmanship.
In 1864, during the darkest period of the Civil War, Mr. Black enlisted in 210th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., as a private and continued in
the service until the close of the war. Our subject is well known throughout the district as a man of sterling qualities and is respected and esteemed by a large circle of friends.
EV. ALOYSIUS MEUWESE, the beloved pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, although a resident of Mount Carmel for only a few years has so endeared himself to the faithful Roman Catholics of that borough, as well as to his neighbors of all religious creeds, that his departure would be looked upon as a misfor- tune to the town. A man of strong character, pleasant in his manner and forceful in his pul-
pit utterances, a devout follower of God, Father Meuwese is popular and has done much in a brief period of time to advance the interests of both his church and the town in which he so kindly and successfully presides over his church and his people.
Father Meuwese is a son of Cornelius Fran- cis and Petronilla (Coppens) Meuwese. He was born December 5, 1859, in the city of Bois le Duc (Woods of the Duke), the an- cient capital of the province of North Bra- bant, The Netherlands. He is the youngest of a family of twelve children, ten sons and two daughters. The oldest of his brothers, Lam- bert, was also a priest and served the church for a period of thirteen years faithfully in The Netherlands, and died in 1883. Our subject when quite young began his studies in the school of the Christian Brothers and there completed his.elementary course, then entered the Petit Seminary in his native diocese where he applied himself to the classics, Latin and Greek. Having determined to enter the priesthood, he took the philosophical part of his course in the diocesan seminary at Haaren
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and completed his theology in the renowned American College at Louvain, Belgium. On April 14, 1884, he was ordained to the priest- hood in the Episcopal chapel of Bois le Duc by Rt. Rev. Adrian Godschalk, D. D. He departed from the land of his birth in the fall of 1884 and landed at Vancouver, Wash., at that time a territory. His first appointment was as assistant in the cathedral in Vancouver, a teacher of the primary class at Holy Angels' College, and as rector in charge of seven mis- sions in the vicinity of Vancouver. So well were his duties performed that our subject was within a year appointed resident rector of the Church of Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, in Sprague, Lincoln County, Wash., with a mission-field comprising territory seventy-five miles square, and which he was obliged to cover on horseback in making his rounds and administering to the people. In 1890, his · health having failed, on account of the ardu- ous duties of his missionary life, he was trans- ferred, at his own request, to Seattle, Wash., where he assumed the duties of assistant rec- tor of the Church of Good Help. He then took charge of many missions in the vicinity of Seattle, frequently visiting the lumber camps, the mining villages and the fertile val- ley and hopfields between Seattle and Taco- ma. In 1892 Father Meuwese visited his na- tive land for rest and returning in the fall of that year resumed his labors, giving up mis- sionary work on the advice of his physician, and removing to the diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., in February, 1893, immediately locating in Mount Carmel where he has been active and successful since as a priest and pastor. He began his work in Mount Carmel as as- sistant to Father James O'Reilly and assumed the rectorate upon the transfer of the former priest to another parish in July, 1893.
During his pastorate of the Church of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel, our subject has been energetic and assiduous in behalf of his peo- ple and the religion of which he is a firm and a consistent minister. He has organized sev- eral church societies, all of which have flour- ished and been productive of great good, in- cluding the St. Aloysius C. T. A. Society, Ladies' Temperance Society, the Cadets of Temperance, the St. Vincent de Paul's So- ciety, and the customary societies common in the work of the Roman Catholic Church. Over all of these Father Meuwese keeps watchful eye and guides them with kindly, firm, fatherly hand, each one being of large membership and thoroughly alive and accom- plishing much of the church work which con- tributes to the growth and the spiritual wel- fare of his parish. Especially devoted has been our subject to the cause of sobriety and to him many times have been paid the tearful, yet joyful, tributes of mothers, wives, and even sweethearts, because of his good in- fluence with and his helpfulness towards their loved ones. Quiet and unassuming, Father Meuwese has a delightfully informal manner which makes his visitations anxiously looked forward to.
The parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel contains something over 400 families and it has prospered finely considering that it is comparatively young and that a period of de- pression in the business world has added to the difficulties which Father Meuwese and his good people have had to contend against. As related elsewhere in this Book of Biographies, in a review of the life-work of Very Rev. J. J. Koch, Mount Carmel was a mission attached to the parish of St. Edward's Church of Sham- okin and was for a time presided over by Father Koch. The mission grew and in 1871 Father Fields of Centralia, now deceased, was placed in charge of it. Father Fields was suc-
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ceeded by Rev. John O'Reilly, who was the first resident pastor, Mount Carmel having been made a separate parish. Father O'Reilly was a priest of marked ability and under his administration the new parish progressed suc- cessfully. On a visit to Marietta, on July 26, 1892, Father O'Reilly was stricken down, dy- ing in a short time, cut off in the midst of a most useful and successful career. His burial at St. Joseph, Susquehanna County, was at- tended by a large delegation of his Mount Carmel parishioners, sorrowing greatly at the sudden taking away of one whom they so dearly loved and respected. The succeeding pastor of the church was Rev. Mark A. O'Neil who finished the construction of the church which Father O'Reilly had begun. Father O'Neil lived to see the edifice dedi- cated in May, 1888, by Bishop McGovern of Harrisburg, soon after passing to his final reward. Rev. James O'Reilly was the next pastor of the church. He organized the paro- chial school and on September 25, 1892, was gratified by installing as instructors five Sis- ters of the Immaculate Heart from West Chester. The work so well begun by Father O'Reilly has been as well carried to its termi- nation by Father Meuwese. Nearly 300 children are enrolled in the parochial school and the pastor hopes soon to be able to pro- vide for a new and more adequate school building.
ARTIN I. HENNESSY. Promi- nent among the influential and enterprising business men of the town of Bloomsburg, is the gentleman whose name heads this narrative, who ' is pro- prietor of the Bloomsburg Bottling Works. He was born in Centralia, Columbia County,
Pa., September 17, 1868, and is a son of John and Catherine (Larkin) Hennessy.
John Hennessy was a native of County Gal- way, Ireland, and at the age of twenty-one years he left his native country, came to the United States and engaged in mining until his death. His latter days were spent in Cen- tralia, Columbia County. Mr. Hennessy was united in the bonds of wedlock to Catherine Larkin and a family of five children was born to them, namely: Martin I., the subject of this personal history; John; Mary; Thomas; and Catherine. His widow now resides in Bloomsburg.
Our subject received his intellectual train- ing in the public schools of Centralia and at the age of nine years he began work in the breakers of that town; at the age of sixteen years he went with his father and engaged in mining for four years. He then learned the trade of a plasterer and bricklayer, which oc- cupation he followed five years. At the age of twenty-five years he purchased the Blooms- burg Bottling Works, which was established by Mr. O'Blosser who was succeeded by his wife, she by Peter Gross and he upon his death by E. P. Cameron, who was succeeded by our subject in 1894. When Mr. Hennessy took possession of the establishment it had a small trade, but by the closest attention and honest dealings he has succeeded in building up a large and paying patronage. He handles over 2,000 barrels of beer and various kinds of carbonated drinks and has an extensive pat- ronage in Bloomsburg and the surrounding villages.
Mr. Hennessy formed a matrimonial al- liance with Clara Gross, a daughter of Peter and Philopina (Young) Gross. Peter Gross was born in Swarton, Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, Germany, June 20, 1825, and during his youthful days he learned the trade of a stone-
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mason. In 1860 he came with his family to the United States and located in Kingston, Pa., and later moved to Danville, Pa., where he followed the puddler's trade. In 1871 he mi- grated to Bloomsburg and purchased the O'Blosser Bottling Works, which he rebuilt and enlarged, carrying on the business until his death, November 21, 1890. He wedded Philopina Young and they reared a large family of children, namely: Jacob, deceased; Philip, deceased; David; Margaret, the wife of Charles Ball; Lena, who married John Den- niker; Daniel, deceased; William, a resident of Bloomsburg; Clara, the wife of our sub- ject; Peter; Elizabeth; and John.
To our subject and wife were born two chil- dren: John, born in Bloomsburg, June 22. 1894; and Frances Clara, born in Blooms- burg, November 26, 1897. Mrs. Hennessy departed this life January 3, 1899. Our sub- ject is interested in local and general matters and politically votes the straight Democratic ticket. He is a valued member of the com- munity and by his upright dealings and habits of thrift and industry has secured the confi- dence and esteem of his neighbors.
HEODORE REDEKER, a prominent citizen and manufacturer of the town of Bloomsburg who is successfully en- gaged in the manufacture of furniture, was born in the city of Philadelphia November 21, 1856, and is a son of Henry William and Caroline (Reimer) Redeker, and grandson of William Redeker.
Henry W. Redeker, the father of our sub- ject, was a native of Struken, Prussia, and his younger days were spent in learning the trade of a cabinetmaker. In 1854 he left his native country and came to the United States. He
located in Philadelphia, where he followed his trade.
Our subject received a common school ed- ucation and then worked with his father, learning the trade of a cabinetmaker. Attain- ing his manhood he became interested in the manufacture of furniture and was made super- intendent of the J. K. Rishel Furniture Works at Hughesville, Lycoming County, Pa. In 1891 our subject removed to Bloomsburg and organized the Bloomsburg Furniture Com- pany, the officers of which are as follows: Theodore Redeker, president; and W. H. Schuyler, secretary and treasurer. They erected a large brick factory 50 by 100 feet on the corner of East Seventh and Spruce streets, near the tracks of the D., L. & W. R. R., and have successfully engaged in the manufacture of bedroom sets, sideboards, and all other furniture. The proprietors are both thoroughly reliable business men and by their honest business methods and excellent work they have established a large and paying pa- tronage. In 1897 our subject organized the North Branch Furniture Company, formerly the Bloomsburg Furniture Company, whose officers are: W. M. Reber, president; F. W. Redeker, secretary; Theodore Redeker, su- perintendent; W. J. Correll, manager and treasurer; and W. H. Slate, assistant mana- ger. The company has two large factories, one 60 by 80 feet and the other 50 by 100 feet; the machinery is operated by an en- gine of one hundred horse-power, and the plant has its own electric-light power. The company employs upwards of seventy-five men, who turn out a fine grade of work, and makes large shipments throughout the East- ern States.
Mr. Redeker was united in the bonds of matrimony to Mary E. Van Buskirk of Hughesville, Pa., and as a result of this union
WILLIAM HARTMAN WOODIN.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
four children bless their home, namely: An- nie, Robert, Florence, and Marie. Mr. Red- eker is now in the prime of life, enjoying the comforts of a neat little home and surrounded by a happy family. His strict attention to business has secured him a fair share of this world's goods, while his uprightness in all his dealings, combined with his genial deport- ment, has won him the respect and affection of all who know him. In politics he acts with the Democratic party. While at Hughesville he served as borough auditor and school di- · rector.
LEMUEL RICKETTS WOODIN is too well-known throughout the Sev- enteenth Congressional District to need an extended introduction to the read- ers of this volume. His name is known and respected throughout the United States wher- ever any attention is paid to the rolling-stock of railroads. His present and past connection with car-manufacturing places him among the most prominent men of the Keystone State. For twenty-two years, until 1894, he served as president of The Jackson & Woodin Manu- facturing Company, of which his father was one of the founders, and of which his son, William H. Woodin, is now vice-president. He is now living a retired life, because of fail- ing health brought on by business cares, and resides in his palatial residence on Berwick Heights, than which there is no finer nor more completely-appointed home in Central Pennsylvania.
Mr. Woodin was born in Cambria, Luzerne County, Pa., December 26, 1844, and is a son of the late William Hartman Woodin, a grandson of David Charles Woodin, and a great-grandson of Milo Woodin, a native of
Connecticut. Our subject's grandfather was an architect by profession who settled in Pennsylvania; he died October 21, 1825, a young man in years. He was married in 1819 to Sarah Hartman, who was born in Catawis- sa, Columbia County, Pa., in 1792, and who died the same year as her husband. Their children numbered three, as follows: William Hartman; Joseph B .; and a daughter.
William Hartman Woodin was born in Salem, Luzerne County, Pa., November 4, 1821, and married Elizabeth Foster, daugh- ter of John and Ellen Foster. Among the first of his business ventures was the building of a foundry at Foundryville, Briarcreek township, Columbia County, where he manu- factured pig iron, and, later, stoves and plows. In 1849 he united his interests with those of M. W. Jackson, who had in 1840 with George Mack established a foundry at Berwick. Mr. Jackson bought out Mr. Mack and the united strength of the firm of Jackson & Woodin, under which style they did business from the start, was such as to assure full and complete success. Both gentlemen possessed extraor- dinary ability and shrewd business judgment and each had a practical and thorough knowl- edge of the iron industry. They started in business in a building, 40 by 25 feet, at the corner of Market and Third streets, where they manufactured the Robb stove, with open grate, and a round stove with a bake-oven on top; also plows, a specialty in this line being the old Bull plow. The stoves and plows were among the best of that time, but would be considered crude at the present day, because of the many improvements that have been made. In 1850 they began the manufacture of iron pipes; in 1858 they commenced mak- ing bridge castings for the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad. In 1861 the firm of Jackson & Woodin received a large contract from
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Mr. Creveling, a large lime manufacturer of Espy, Columbia County; the order was for sixteen four-wheeled cars, which they con- structed in a shed; when the cars were fin- ished the sides of the shed were torn down, and the cars drawn to the railroad by horses. In this work the two partners demonstrated that they were men of exceptional ability, whom no obstacles could overcome or drive from their original purpose. The result was that from that time forward they never lacked orders and their business grew pleasingly, many new departments being added to the rapidly growing plant. One of the specialties that Messrs. Jackson and Woodin developed was the manufacture of mine cars and mine castings, and in this branch of work they have held their own with many competitors to the present time. The partners were greatly aided in their work by their mutual friend, A. C. Whitney of Philadelphia, who gave them timely advice and lent them patterns and chills for the mouldings of car wheels. It may also be said that the man who mixed the iron for the wheels made at that time is still in the employ of the company and serves in the same capacity as then. In 1872 the D., L. & W. R. R. built a switch in Second street and connected it with all parts of the Jackson & Woodin plant, and so from that time on the firm's goods were loaded on cars in its own yards. On March 1, 1872, The Jackson & Woodin Manufacturing Company was or- ganized, with C. R. Woodin, our subject, president, his father retiring.
William Hartman Woodin was a man be- loved by all. He was strict and exact in busi- ness affairs and had little patience with those who were disposed to shirk obligations or to slight their work. But, with all his adherence to the sterling rules of business, he never lost sight of the fact that he had been blessed
abundantly and that it was his duty to make bright and happy the lives of those whose lot, otherwise, might have been wretchedness and want. He gave liberally as a friend and not as one dispensing alms. In his life there was nothing artificial, nothing out of harmony. He was loved and respected by all who knew him and his death on November 10, 1886, was mourned as a public calamity. The mem- ory of his nobly spent life is still green in the minds of all with whom he was associated in varied walks of life. His wife, who is now aged seventy-seven years, is living in Ber- · wick, Pa. Their children were as follows: Joseph B., deceased; Sarah A., deceased; C. R., our subject; Eudora W., widow of the late S. P. Hanly of Berwick; Mary, deceased; John Foster, of Arkansas; and Elizabeth, de- ceased.
C. R. Woodin, at the age of sixteen years, left Kingston Seminary on account of his eyes, and began work under his father. In 1863 he served one year in the Pennsylvania Emergency Reserves, Company C, 28th Reg- iment. Upon his return to Berwick he ap- plied himself to learning and becoming fa- miliar with every detail and development of the business. He was made president of the company upon its organization, March I, 1872, and filled that office until 1894, when, his health having been overtaxed by business, he resigned. The company is now officered by the following men: Fred'k H. Eaton, a nephew of the subject of this sketch, presi- dent; William H. Woodin, vice-president; W. F. Lowery, secretary; W. M. Hager, treasur- er; and H. F. Glenn, general manager. It has a capital of $1,100,000. The business has in- creased yearly until now the Jackson & Woodin cars are seen on nearly all railroads of the United States and Canada. Employ- ment is given to 1,500 workmen, most of
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